


Audition

by JuniRiceBall



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Cohabitation, Lotsa tension, M/M, despite the suggestive summary this has no smut, im sorry, other characters mentioned briefly in the chatroom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-07-01 04:00:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15766170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuniRiceBall/pseuds/JuniRiceBall
Summary: The night before an important audition, Zen's apartment gets flooded. Jumin helps him out by volunteering his place as temporary shelter--among other things...





	Audition

The day before most of our story happened, Zen came home late from one of his musicals to find that the ceiling of the crappy basement he called home had caved in, a toilet he didn’t know was in the middle of his living room, and the majority of his belongings were drowned in knee-deep sewage. The landlord was barely apologetic for the literal shitstorm that happened in his apartment, but told him they’d fix it and to come back in a week. With just his bag and the clothes on his back, he went to a cheap hotel nearby and rambled on the RFA Messenger app over it:

****A new chatroom has opened: My Apartment Got Flooded :(** **

_ZEN has entered the chatroom._  
_Yoosung★ has entered the chatroom._  
_707 has entered the chatroom._   
_Jaehee Kang has entered the chatroom._

_ZEN sent two attachments:_   
_strangetoilet.jpg_   
_stinkywater.vid_

Jaehee Kang: !!!  
Yoosung ★: Gross!  
Jaehee Kang: We ought to sue your landlord Zen  
707: Zenny TT_TT  
707: what r u going to do now?  
ZEN: Well…  
ZEN: I’m at this cheap hotel now, so I’m fine  
ZEN: But I don’t wanna stay here for a week… I mean I haven’t got paid for my last gig yet and I really need to concentrate on my next audition  
ZEN: wouldn’t get enough beauty sleep here either  
ZEN: the walls here are kinda thin so I can hear this n that happening T_T  
Yoosung ★: That sucks :O  
Yoosung ★: You gotta get outta there!  
Yoosung: I wish I could let you stay in my place T_T but only SKY university students r allowed here  
707: ya me tooooooo  
ZEN: … I can understand Yoosung not being able to help. But I don’t get you, Seven  
707: I would let u stay here if I could ya know  
707: would love to fall asleep in ur strong muscly arms and to rest my weary head in ur smooth gorgeous pecs  
707: -heart eyes-  
Jaehee Kang: -annoyed-  
ZEN: ;; don’t know what to say to that.  
707: BUT! My maid would kill u if you saw her face  
ZEN: again with that maid?!  
Yoosung★: Yeah, Seven what’s up with that?  
Jaehee Kang: never mind all of that.  
Jaehee Kang: Zen. Please stay over at my home

_Jumin Han has entered the chatroom._

707: say what, Jaehee?  
707: women of today are so aggressive. Growwl~~~  
Jaehee Kang: -breaks glasses-  
Jaehee Kang: I do not mean to be bold.  
Jaehee Kang: I am merely concerned for Zen’s safety. Seeing the conditions of the hotel he is staying in right now, I cannot feel secure.  
Jaehee Kang: I am all right with staying in a hotel while you need space.  
ZEN: No way, Jaehee;;  
ZEN: I get that you’re worried for me and I appreciate it, but it’s not right for me to just take your apartment like that.  
Jumin Han: For once, I agree with Zen.  
Jumin Han: ******Absolutely not, Assistant Kang.  
** Jumin Han: ******I will not allow Zen to stay in your apartment.  
** 707: gasp! Bold letters?  
707: Ooh, someone’s being possessive over Zen. :P  
Yoosung★: -scared-  
ZEN: ?!?!?!?!?!!?!?  
ZEN: WTH trust fund  
ZEN: no need to be harsh  
Jumin Han: I am not being harsh.  
Jumin Han: I merely think that it is improper of one of my female employees to give up her company-allotted housing and risk compromising her work performance for the comfort of one of her male idols.  
Jumin Han: Furthermore, lest you forget, Assistant Kang, you will be taking care of Elizabeth 3 rd for a week.  
Jumin Han: I refuse to let her stay in a strange new environment while I am gone.  
707: oh. So that’s what it was~~~  
ZEN: -pissed off-  
Jaehee Kang: …  
Jaehee Kang: Then sir, in light of the present situation  
Jaehee Kang: I am hereby asking permission to offer an alternative solution to resolve Zen’s present housing concerns.  
Jaehee Kang: Given the chances that Zen will soon be working on a new project with C&R, I think it will be in our company’s best interests to support him as much as we can.  
Yoosung★: Oh! There’s a new project after the cat commercials?!  
ZEN: … please don’t remind me of that, Yoosung  
ZEN: nothing’s guaranteed yet, but I’m auditioning for one of the new dramas that C&R is funding under one of their entertainment groups  
Jumin Han: Then, Assistant Kang  
Jumin Han: Proceed.  
Jaehee Kang: Perhaps we can offer Zen a better hotel accommodation than the one he is presently residing.  
Yoosung★: Ooh! A fancy one?  
Yoosung★: Zen! Let me stay over!!!!  
Yoosung★: Let’s order room service the entire week! Whoo!  
ZEN: -sweatdrop-  
ZEN: No way. Sorry Jaehee but I can’t accept that  
ZEN: I get that you’re concerned but I’m not working for C&R at the moment  
ZEN: you can’t spend company money on me. At least not yet;;  
ZEN: anyway guys. You don’t have to go through all the trouble  
ZEN: im gonna be okjsadfjsaldv sadklfsagsalkhfv;asdklhfvas;dlkfjvsa;df  
ZEN: asfsfsadf  
ZEN: aa  
Jaehee Kang: !!!  
Yoosung★: Wha! Is this a hacker?!  
707: let me check!  
Yoosung★: Zen! Hold on!!!!!

_ZEN sent one attachment: feckincat.jpg_

ZEN: A STRAY CAT JUST WALTZED IN MY ROOM  
Jumin Han: Oh. Isn’t that fortunate.  
Jaehee Kang: Oh my!  
707: -heart eyes-  
707: So! Cute!!!!  
707: I love the asymmetry of the bitten-off ear and the normal one!  
Yoosung★: That cat looks like it’s been through hell!  
Yoosung★: Somebody take it to the vet!  
Jaehee Kang: … you two are missing the point  
Yoosung★: my bad  
Yoosung★: Are you okay, Zen?  
ZEN: NO I’M NOT  
ZEN: RAN OUT OF THE ROOM  
Jaehee Kang: Is management aware of this?  
ZEN: I’M LEAVING THIS PLACE  
ZEN: WTF kdjfs;lakdjf;a  
Jumin Han: … tsk. Can’t be helped then.  
Jumin Han: Zen, send me the address of your hotel  
Jumin Han: Collect your belongings  
Jumin Han: and wait at the lobby within thirty-seven minutes.

  _Jumin Han has left the chatroom._

Jaehee Kang: …  
ZEN: …  
707: … ~doki~  
Yoosung★: -sweatdrop-  
Yoosung★: I wonder what Jumin’s up to~

 

_ZEN has left the chatroom._

* * *

As promised, within thirty-seven minutes, Driver Kim was already at the lobby, the stretch limousine sticking out like a sore thumb in the shoddy neighborhood they were in. He handed the sneezing Zen an antihistamine, and then drove the streets at the speed of light. Before he was the wiser the young, displaced actor found himself at the lobby of the C&R building, feeling out of place.

 

One speedy elevator ride later, Zen found himself staring at the door of the only unit in the penthouse floor, a muscle involuntarily twitching under his eye in offense. What great, massive sin has he committed to deserve whatever it was that fate had in store for him that night?

 

“For how long are you going to gape at my door like a fool, Zen?” An all too-familiar smooth baritone asked directly at his left ear.

 

He was so close that Zen all but jumped out of his skin. The owner of that voice had that aggravating blank expression, as always, making his lack of concept of personal space even more annoying. When he was about a foot away from him, Zen straightened up and said, through gritted teeth, “Obviously it’s still locked, you trust fund jerk. Just open it already!”

 

The one and only Jumin Han, without a single muscle moving on his face, merely touched the doorknob, making it open with a soft _beep._

 

Airtight security detail. Fingerprint and facial recognition. High ceilings. Top class furniture. Sparkling clean at every inch. Every item that he laid his eyes on in that apartment seemed more expensive than Zen’s monthly rent. It did nothing to quell the annoyance welling up in his chest.

 

“As we have discussed in the messenger app, you need not worry about Elizabeth 3rd. Assistant Kang is in charge of her care until next week, and thus we decided to let my princess stay over at her place a day earlier,” said Jumin, gesturing for the actor to sit anywhere he liked in the living room. “Not a single strand of her beautiful white fur is present anywhere in this apartment right now, hence there is no reason for your absurd allergies to act up.”

 

“Yeah, you told me so.” Zen plopped down on one of the sofas and marveled at how utterly soft and comfortable it was. He tried not to let it show on his face. He cleared his throat. “So… I didn’t expect you to, you know. Volunteer your place and all that.”

 

“I thought it was obvious from how the conversation transpired in the chatroom.”

 

Why did this guy have to talk like an uptight, judgmental old man all the time? Zen gritted his teeth and said, “I’m trying to thank you. So. Uh. Thanks. You really helped me tonight.”

 

That infuriatingly blank face remained blank--maybe that’s how he kept his skin so smooth and wrinkle-free, even as he was in his late twenties already. “It seemed that letting you stay there longer would be detrimental to you physically, and we can’t have that before your audition. This was the most logical solution given the circumstances.” His suit jacket shrugged off, the older man began loosening the dark, silk tie around his neck, surprising Zen at how different he looked without it. “Besides, since I will be gone for the next seven days for a business trip, you might as well house-sit for me. It will work well for me too.”

 

He unbuttoned the first two buttons of his dress shirt, and the young actor willed himself to look away. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll do my best.” _Why the fuck are you even staring, Zen?! Get a hold of yourself._

__

As if not noticing Zen’s very obvious struggles, Jumin proceeded to point to the kitchen, the dining room, the study, the tea-room, the bathroom, and his bedroom. He told him briefly about the things he expected of Zen to do while he’s gone, but as the flustered albino stared at the bit of collarbone peeking from his host’s newly opened shirt, he found it harder and harder to focus on the things he’s saying.

 

When he came to, Jumin had already spent more than a few silent moments staring at him in curiosity.

 

“Oh--sorry, trust fund, it’s been a long day… I didn’t know that I was spacing out,” stammered Zen, some color rising up to his pale cheeks.

 

Still stoic, Jumin Han merely nodded. “You need to eat dinner. Take a shower and I’ll have something prepared for you.”

 

“What? No, you don’t need to--I can make my own--”

 

“If you care about yourself as an actor, Zen, you would accept any chance at proper nourishment that you could get.” Jumin was already rolling up his sleeves up to his elbows, and again the flustered Zen willed himself to look away. “Now go. Don’t forget you still have to spend the night practicing.”

 

Zen mumbled a “thanks, I’ll go ahead then” and hurried his way to the bath.

 

* * *

 

 

Within the clouds of steam rising from the luxurious shower, Zen finally found the freedom to slap his own, beautiful face back to his senses.

 

_Why. Why would I do this to myself???_

__

Why did he _have_ to realize that he had feelings for Jumin Han after all??

 

The very first moment that they met was an argument--Jumin had described his performance as ‘passionate, yet dim-witted,’ and Zen had to be physically restrained by Rika and V, else he would be charged with assault. Years later, each and every time they had to interact was an argument, and even when RFA had its troubles, the line of fire between them never dissipated. In fact, in hindsight, on calm days when he didn’t need to have an argument with Jumin, an itching boredom, akin to his own allergies, would pervade all of his senses. He attributed it to being restless in general, but…

 

__Damn that Seven!__ It was that infuriating omnipotent red-head’s fault. He’s the most blatant Jumin/Zen shipper in the RFA chatrooms and probably the whole universe. More than a week has passed since that boy collected a bunch of so-called ‘compromising’ photos during the last cat commercial shoot, including those of a teary-faced, allergy-riddled Zen in a white fur costume and a very rare photo of Jumin Han actually _smiling_ in the background…

 

In a bunch of annoying private messages, Seven had insisted that the two of them were in-love and were perfect for each other and Zen should just stop being so damn _tsundere_ over the whole situation. Yeah, it was his fault. If Seven had not insisted so, he wouldn’t have spent (more than) a few sleepless nights in a huff, trying to make heads or tails about the blush in his cheeks and the throbbing of his chest and the whirlwind of emotions in the pit of his stomach that tended to happen after an invigorating argument against the stoic businessman.

 

Zen stared at himself in the mirror--he barely realized that he was halfway through his skin-care regimen already. A strange emotion rose from his tummy to his chest as he set his beauty products at the shelf near the sink, next to Jumin’s.

 

_Calm down, dammit. It’s just one night with him. Just do your damn hardest not to realize any weird new fetishes like that sleeve thing or button thing or collarbone thing_ \--he shook his head pretty hard at this-- _what fetish there’s no new fetish haha fuck you Hyun Ryu wtf FOCUS FOCUS._

__

_Anyway, it’s just one night, and after that you’ll have the place to yourself and there will be no… distractions. Surely you and your beauty could survive this._

 

He focused once more on his face, which was as ethereal and as god-like as he remembered it, if not a little more than last time. Red eyes stared back at him, slightly glazed, and a tinge of pink graced the perfect angle of his cheekbones.

 

_Beautiful. But what’s with this dopey look, huh?_

__

He sighed, moisturized, and tried to shake off the lingering feelings in his chest.

 

* * *

 

 

Dinner consisted of a salad, pasta, and a steak, all neatly arranged and plated. When Zen walked in with his mouth agape, Jumin was pouring the second glass of wine.

 

“Close your mouth and sit. It won’t be good cold.”

 

“I didn’t know you could cook.”

 

“It’s a simple and necessary skill to have. Don’t you cook, Zen?”

 

He hated him.

 

He sat down, mumbled his thanks, prayed that he was using the correct fork, and began sampling the dishes. They were fucking _good._ It took a lot of self-control not to scarf down each dish in front of Jumin (and make him even more smug than he already was).

 

The older man appraised the look on the young actor’s face unabashedly as he took bites of each dish. The corner of his upper lip twitched upward ever so lightly as he did so. “Mixed greens, _fettuccine al pesto Genovese,_ and Chaliapin steak. Do not worry, I took into consideration the amount of sodium and calories in those dishes. They should be all right for you.”

 

He… hated him. Really did.

 

“You aren’t eating anything?”

 

“I already ate. Just need the nightcap.”

 

Jumin sipped his wine delicately. When he gestured for Zen to do the same, he shook his head in response and mentioned that he liked beer better. But thanks, all the same.

 

And really, Zen didn’t drink that stuff, but the way the dark-haired man swirled the liquid in its glass, with one, delicate hand, its colour a sharp contrast to the black-and-white that he usually wore… made it look very, very appealing. Jumin took another sip, making Zen’s throat feel bone-dry.

 

Zen _really, really_ hated him at that moment. That’s what the feeling was. Hate.

 

The silver-haired man finished his meal the quickest way one can eat a meal politely and stood up, intending to wash the dishes. To his surprise, Jumin let him do it, but soon it was clear that Zen didn’t know how to work the high-end fancypants German kitchen tech that would clean the dishes, and he didn’t have the traditional sponge and soap to do the chore manually. (Figures.)

 

“Right. I need to instruct you about this. So, first, press this button…”

 

The older man reached over and pressed the correct buttons for him, rumbling the instructions _directly_ in his ear as he did so, again proving that _he had no damn sense of personal space._ He was so close that he smelled the wine on his breath, noting the fruity hints and oak and whatever pretentious things they say to describe wine. It was only a few seconds of pressing buttons to make the machine work, but Zen felt the time stretch farther and farther away from him.

__

Feeling like his heart would stop at any second, Zen practically shimmied away from Jumin as soon as they were done.

 

“Are you sure you understand how this works?”

 

“Yeah, yeah… just press this one and that one and then leave the dishes there, right?” Zen answered, avoiding eye contact.

 

“You got it.” Jumin nodded. And as if he didn’t just played with Zen’s tender heart back then, he left the kitchen without saying anything further.

 

“Hey. Where are you going?”

 

A curious look on his face, the businessman answered, “It’s my turn to take a bath,” as if the answer was obvious. He was already unbuttoning more buttons from his shirt nonchalantly, exposing more of his surprisingly well-built chest, and Zen turned his head so quickly that he had whiplash.

 

In hindsight, maybe he shouldn’t have looked away. It shouldn’t be offensive for two guys to see as far as that, right? Zen saw naked male torsos all the time, even bulkier and manlier ones like this one, on-stage and off-stage even, but this particular torso was the first one to make him blush like this.

 

Behind him, he heard Jumin chuckle. “I didn’t know you would be so sensitive about things like this, Zen.”

 

“I’m not,” he grumbled. As if to prove that no, he didn’t care if Jumin stripped down to his skivvies or whatever expensive things he wore underneath his stuffy suits, he peeked over his shoulder and saw the older man’s well-built back. _What business does a businessman like him to have a figure like that?!_

__

“Right.” Jumin had his shirt draped over one arm as he entered the bathroom. “Concentrate, Zen. You have to pass that audition, else I’m charging you for your stay here.”

 

Before the young albino could form a retort, Jumin had already closed the door behind him.

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

_It is a strange situation that the dejected, heartbroken young man found himself. The rain outside the window produces a cacophony of mismatched sounds, doing nothing to quell the turmoil within Hyunsoo’s heart._

__

_Song Mina--young, sweet Mina, with her dark hair and dark eyes, so difficult to read, so untouchable--stands in front of him, soaked to the bone and breathless. Didn’t this woman just abandon him for that rich bastard Lee Jinhyuk? Wasn’t he just put into his place at the cotillion? A million words wanting to spill from his mouth, he settles for the ones that will reflect his anger, his feelings of betrayal the least._

__

"What are you doing here, Mina?” _Hyunsoo says, trying hard not to regret the sharpness of his voice._

__

_“I…” Song Mina attempts, already at a loss for words. “I needed to see you again,” she finally decides. Her facial expression barely changes, despite the chill in her skin._

__

_This woman--he never truly knows what she’s thinking. Spending all these years loving her in frustration, Hyunsoo feels a new heaviness in his heart._ “Go home, Mina,” _he tells her in the coldest tone possible._

__

“ _Hyunsoo, wait--”_

__

“I mean it.” _He turns away from her, willing his facial expressions to stone._ “Lee Jinhyuk must be worried sick about you. Besides… this rain can’t be good for your condition.”

 

_“You don’t understand, Hyunsoo… all you know about me and Lee Jinhyuk is a misunderstanding. He is--”_

__

“He is your fiancee. He is also making sure that… that your illness is treated.” _His voice cracks a little._ “Lee Jinhyuk is a good man. His photographs are renowned all throughout the world. He’ll show you things you won’t see because you’re sick… your father loves him. He’s…” _He wills himself to continue, convinces himself that all that he is saying is true._  “He’s a good man, Mina. He’s good for you.”

__

“ _But… you’re my personal nurse, aren’t you? I command you to go back home, and do your job, and--” she coughs as the exertion gets to her, and it took all of Hyunsoo’s self-control to stop himself from patting her back. “Y… you told me you loved me… didn’t you?”_

__

“No… this is it. Song Mina. I said a lot of things to you before, and I regret all of them now.” _He needs to tell her this so she would leave him alone, so she could move on, so she could eventually have a chance at being happy._ “I was… stupid. I wasn’t thinking. And I didn’t mean a thing I said. So don’t act as if I couldn’t live without you, because I could. You know I could, and I’ll spend the rest of my godforsaken life proving it to you! Just… leave me alone already.”

 

_Mina looks at him. An infuriating blank look on her face. “_ Zen, do that again,” _she says, her voice deeper and manlier than it should be, and--_

__

In the next instant, the tragic young nurse Hyunsoo of the upcoming drama “My Favorite Nurse” broke character, leaving a somewhat disoriented and annoyed Zen to snap back to reality. “What the--since when have you been standing there like a creep, you jerk?!”

 

Fresh and clean after his shower, Jumin stood near the empty wall where Zen was practicing his lines. His hair was still damp, and he had a towel draped around his neck. The usual styling wax that held his bangs up in angles was absent, and his dark hair flopped down and framed his face at the sides. Contrary to Zen’s expectations, he wasn’t wearing a pinstriped pajama set, and instead wore a soft-looking grey shirt and pajama bottoms.

 

He looked… surprisingly ordinary. Well, not so ordinary that he was plain--his skin was sickeningly smooth and fair, his features refined, his hair smooth and silky and much, much better looking than it did in the daytime--but what was the point of this train of thought again? Something about the jerk in pajamas? Zen struggled to keep his thoughts together and his eyes away from the older man’s hair.

 

“I wear pajamas sometimes. Not just striped ones,” Jumin answered with a smirk, reading his mind perfectly.

 

“I didn’t ask.” Zen sighed and flopped down on a nearby couch, flipping through the script again. “Was I too loud? I could move somewhere else to practice. I need to work a little more to do this perfectly.”

 

“You need more than that,” commented the businessman, ignoring the flash of annoyance on the younger man’s face. “The script needs a lot of work. Are dramas written like that recently? It’s very … pedestrian.”

 

“I’m just an actor, not the scriptwriter.”

 

“Hm. So you are.” Obviously he never intended to leave Zen alone. He sat down next to him, reading the script over his shoulder. “So you are auditioning for the role of Hyunsoo, the destitute nurse. And I assume that this… Song Mina, the young heiress with a terminal illness, is to be played by Kyungju Choi?”

 

Zen hummed. “People just call her Echogirl, you know. And, yes she is. She’s the first one to be cast.”

__

__“__ Hm. I can only imagine this role to be a big challenge to her.”

 

A few moments of silence passed, ones where Zen was flipping through the script in frustrated silence and ones where that dense jerk Jumin Han stayed on the couch, reading over his shoulder like a rubbernecking creep.

 

“You know… you don’t have to stay here and watch.”

 

Jumin glanced at him with a look that tried to look offended. “I thought it was obvious that I wish to stay here to assist you.”

 

Zen sighed very, very loudly. “You can help me by staying out of the way, Trust Fund. You have a flight tomorrow, don’t you? You should pack or rest or something.”

 

“I’ve already packed. And my flight is in the late afternoon,” he answered bluntly, obviously not taking the hint. “And I have some comments about your acting that I think should be corrected. So I highly recommend you to listen to my critique and to act accordingly.”

 

It took a lot of self-control for the actor to not grind his teeth again--too much of that and he wouldn’t have any of his pearly whites come sunrise. “I… appreciate the concern, Jerkmin, but do you even have experience in doing things like this?”

 

“... I played Raoul in _The Phantom of the Opera_ in high school.”

“That’s just a high school play,” scoffed Zen, trying not to be too surprised at the fact that Jumin had any experience at all.

 

“Our school rented the Daegu Opera House for that play. We easily sold out the five nights that we performed.”

 

_That figures!!! This damn rich kid! “_ Even so! That’s theater, and this is a TV drama. There’s a real difference, you know!”

 

“I know. And since you mostly a theater actor, Zen, I see a lot of habits that wouldn’t work on the small screen.” Seeing that the actor was fuming and had no plan of relenting, Jumin sighed. “At least let me read the lines with you. Perhaps you would see your mistakes better, rather than if you keep talking to the wall.”

 

Zen ran one hand through his hair and breathed in deeply. Why did he have a crush on this stubborn jerk again? After some rumination, he finally said, “I’ll let you read lines with me once, and I’ll listen to what you have to say once. After that, please let me practice in peace.”  

__

A small victory smirk was on the jerk’s mouth as he took the script from Zen’s hands. _This jerk… just really enjoys telling people what to do, doesn’t he?!_

__

They agreed to start from the scene that Zen was already practicing. They got into their positions, with the albino having his back on the raven-haired man. Internally, he willed himself to get rid of Zen, and to turn into Hyunsoo the nurse.

 

He turned around, looked at Jumin up and down slowly, imagining that it was Mina, soaked to the bone. “What are you doing here, Mina?” he began.

 

It helped, perhaps, that Jumin’s hair was still damp, and he wore the blank expression that the character Mina was supposed to have. “I… I needed to see you again.” His voice was deep, and rich, and his pause was long enough. Zen was impressed.

 

“Go home, Mina.”

 

“Hyunsoo, wait--”

 

“I mean it.” Zen--no, Hyunsoo--turned around once more, ignoring Ju-Mina, who flipped the script audibly to the next page. “Lee Jinhyuk must be worried sick about you. Besides… this rain can’t be good for your condition.”

 

“You don’t understand, Hyunsoo… all you know about me and Lee Jinhyuk is a misunderstanding.” Zen imagined this line to be delivered differently, perhaps more defensively. And yet the baritone voice that answered him had a quiet, pleading, _despair_  to it, one that almost made him look back. “He is…”

 

Zen paused for too long. He tried to get back in track. “He is your fiancee. He is also making sure that… that your illness is treated.” His voice cracked a little. “Lee Jinhyuk is a good man. His photographs are renowned all throughout the world. He’ll show you things you won’t see because you’re sick… your father loves him. He’s… he’s a good man, Mina. He’s good for you.”

 

“But you’re my personal nurse, aren’t you? I command you to go back home, and do your job, and--” How the heck did he sound like that? Jumin sounded like he was trying his hardest to be strong, but was actually fragile and falling apart. He didn’t actually cough in between, instead opting to pause, letting the gravity of his next words all the more heavier. “Y… you told me you loved me… didn’t you?”

 

“No… this is it. Song Mina. I said a lot of things to you before, and I regret all of them now. I was… stupid. I wasn’t thinking. And I didn’t mean a thing I said. So don’t act as if I couldn’t live without you, because I could. You know I could, and I’ll spend the rest of my godforsaken life proving it to you! Just… leave me alone already.”

 

Script still in hand, Ju-Mina stepped closer to him, keeping his dark eyes on his red ones. “You know you don’t mean that, Hyungsoo.” His voice so deep, so quiet. Not at all like a frail girl’s, and yet…

 

“No… not again. Mina, don’t do this.” _You’re Hyungsoo, dammit. Don’t get distracted. No matter how close he gets..._

__

“Hold me, Park Hyungsoo. Kiss me.” Another step closer. Zen tried not to breathe in all the nice scents coming from his body. “I'm daring you to touch me. If you still want to leave… you wouldn’t…”

 

He couldn’t figure out when their faces became so _damn close._ He was so close to that infuriating jerk’s face, he could see the faint shadow of his long, dark eyelashes over his cheeks. He felt the breath tickling his skin. Saw just how dark and disconcerting his eyes were. Somehow, the taller man’s long, graceful fingers found the long, silver strands of hair that he tied and draped over his shoulder, turning them gently in between each finger. His hand moved from his hair to his chin, tilting it upwards, forcing him to look straight into those dark eyes and symmetrical nose and thin mouth. His lips curved into a smile--that rare, devilish smile, one that Zen didn’t mind seeing more often--and he came closer and closer to him, and--

 

“Don’t do this,” breathed Jumin, making Zen blink in confusion.  

 

“... huh?”

 

Jumin raised his other hand, waving the script slightly in between them. “You’re supposed to push Mina away and say, Don’t do this. With a strained voice. While avoiding eye contact with her.”

 

All the blood in Zen’s body rushed to his face. Quickly, he turned away, not even having the sense to push Jumin away as the script demanded.

 

What the hell was that? What was his body doing? No, never mind what he was doing, what was that _jerk_ doing? None of that hair touching and chin-tilting and __sensuous breathing__ (as enjoyable as it was) was part of the script! It was his fault that Zen totally zoned out and forgot the next line?

 

When the flustered young actor caught his breath and dared himself to look at Jumin again, he was enumerating all the ‘areas that needed improvement’ with Zen’s acting, excluding him bungling the last part of the scene. “As expected, you had a hard time with subtlety… your facial expressions are too contorted in this part here… furthermore, your body was much too tense at the beginning of the scene… eye contact was erratic… your pronounciation was blablabla…”

 

Damn, not an ounce of remorse to be seen in this infuriating CEO-in-line! Even though he wanted to do many different things to Jumin’s face and neck and collarbone and hair mere moments ago ( _damn the list of fetishes goes on and on_ ), now all he wanted to do was to yell at him to shut up.

 

No, scratch that, what he wanted to do was to hide his face from the world and live under a boulder where no Jumin Han would dare follow. Was there a sacred, peaceful place that existed in the world?

 

“... but, all in all, Zen, I think you did a decent job, considering that this will be your first venture into a TV drama.”

 

Wow, was that a compliment? The feeling was so foreign to Zen’s ears. Jumin had a neutral face of approval on his face as he gazed back at him.

 

“Well… as promised, you only read with me once and listen to my comments once.” Not waiting for him to reply, Jumin handed Zen his script back. “I predict that you will do well tomorrow. Break a leg.”

 

The silver-haired man blushed. “Y-yeah… I know I will, you know. No question about that.”

“Indeed.”

 

Zen cleared his throat. “So… I guess I’ll practice some more. T… thanks. Even though you’re a big jerk, you still bothered to help me, so… yeah.”

 

His lip curled upward once more, seemingly in an attempt to smile. Zen wondered briefly about the expectant look in his eyes, lasting for one beat, then two beats.

 

Then Jumin nodded curtly, turned around, and left for his bedroom without another word.

 

The sound of the door closing barely did anything to snap him back to reality. Zen sighed--he had sighed a lot this evening--and plopped down on the couch. He touched the skin on his cheeks and his neck, which were warm, the feeling of his breath still lingering. He touched his chest and felt his rapid heartbeat.

 

“How am I supposed to focus now? You jerk.”

 

And he did try to focus, but eventually morning came, and all he had accomplished were a hundred tosses and turns, a thousand confused thoughts, and a more solid understanding of the nurse Hyunsoo’s feelings of frustration.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this to practice writing sexual tension--I don't feel I'm good enough at it~
> 
> Promise I'll get back to writing my other stories soon hehe. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it!


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